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Pay Fair Wages to Hospitality Workers

The Partnership for an Equitable Los Angeles at USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the undersigned stand in solidarity with hospitality workers employed by the University of Southern California as they seek fair wages and just working conditions.

Hospitality workers are a critical part of the university community. Students, faculty, and staff rely on the cleaning, dining, and other services provided by the hospitality staff in order to focus on learning, teaching, and research. Yet these members of the Trojan family face difficult work conditions and struggle to meet a basic living standard, averaging an annual full-time salary of $18,800.

For the past six months, hospitality workers have been negotiating with USC through union representation to design a contract that guarantees workers 40-hour work weeks, wages comparable to those at other prominent Los Angeles universities, and respectful treatment by managers. These proposed changes would ensure the real increases in income that workers seek, since USC has been offering more inconsistent and fewer weekly hours to hospitality staff after the union successfully negotiated wage increases in the previous contract.

We affirm that all workers deserve to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. Therefore, we call upon the University to increase wages to competitive rates and improve working conditions through measures requested by hospitality workers. We — the undersigned students, faculty, staff, alumni, and organizations — believe that the University has a moral and social responsibility as the largest private employer in the neighborhood to treat employees with fairness and respect. The entire Trojan family is stronger when we can work and learn together in conditions that treat each of us with dignity.